Don’t Stop Praying… You Know, Like I Did
My prayer life hasn’t been that stellar lately. Non-existent might be a better word for it. So today, I wanted to offer you some advice: Don’t stop praying… you know, like I did.
My life has been pretty chaotic lately. From the passing of my grandmother, to the graduation of my son, it seems like there’s always been something going on. And somewhere in the midst of it, I stopped praying.
Not that I meant to…
I Stopped Praying
Paul wrote in Romans that He did not do the good he wanted to do, but the evil he did not want to do is what he kept on doing. That’s where my prayer life has been lately. I want to pray, but I’m struggling. Have you ever been there? (Stephanie has.)
Worse yet, when I try to pray, I get distracted. I forget I’m praying and end up thinking about what’s going to happen later in the week (because, there’s always something). Then I get frustrated.
In Valerie’s and my book, Talking with Jesus, we gave some great advice for praying when you’re distracted. There’s a whole chapter on it. So, I’ve tried implementing some of the relevant tactics. And they help… they get me back on track anyway, but then I just get distracted again thirty seconds later.
Prayer is a Habit
But being distracted is better than not praying at all… right?
Because I used to get distracted when I prayed. But the more I got into the habit of prayer, the less I got distracted. So that’s where I am. I’m out of the habit.
And it happened so swiftly.
I can’t even remember when I stopped praying. I just did.
I used to pray all the time. I’d pray on the go, during my quiet time, etc. But then life happened and I slipped out of the habit.
But that’s the thing about habits–you can rebuild them.
Don’t Stop Praying
So if you have stopped praying, like I did, I encourage you to start again today.
Even if you get distracted.
Even if it’s only a few words on the go.
Say a prayer right now if you need to.
And know that you are not alone. My prayer life has been full of ups and downs over the years. The thing to remember is that God doesn’t base our salvation or His love for us on our prayer life. Yes, He wants to hear from us. But even when we don’t pray, He knows what’s in our hearts.
If you are struggling in your prayer life, you might also check out a few of these other posts on our blog:
- 4 Steps for When You’re Bored with Prayer
- How to Overcome “Prayer-alysis”
- What to Do When You Don’t Know How to Pray
Like this post?
Check Out Talking with Jesus
If your prayer life isn’t picture perfect and strong enough to rival that of the apostles like Paul and John, this is the book for you. Ladies, It’s Time To Reclaim Our Prayer Life.
I love this post. I appreciate its frankness because I can relate. I find I’m more likely to forget to pray on those days outside my routine—like the weekends or holidays. At the end of the day, I’ll realize that I didn’t pray once all day, and then, of course, I’ll feel bad. Then I try to pray, and the distractions pull my mind to other things. Thank you for the reminder to keep showing up and trying, so the habit builds.
Thanks, Ashley. I’m still working on rebuilding the habit. But its good to remember that we aren’t alone in our struggles and that we are already and always forgiven when we fail.